| artificial classification | <zoology> Classification based on convenient or conspicuous diagnostic characters without attention to characters indicating relationship, often a classification based on a single arbitrarily chosen character, rather than an evaluation of the totality of characters. (09 Jan 1998) |
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| artificial crown | A fixed restoration of the major part of the entire coronal part of a natural tooth; usually of gold, porcelain, or acrylic resin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial dentition | <dentistry> A synthetic replacement for all of your teeth in either your upper or your lower jaw. (08 Jan 1998) |
| artificial eye | A curved disk of opaque glass or plastic, containing an imitation iris and pupil in the centre, inserted beneath the eyelids and supported by the orbital contents after evisceration or enucleation; it may be ready-made (stock) or custom-made. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial fever | 1. Obsolete synonym for pyrotherapy. 2. Treatment of fever. Synonym: artificial fever, induced fever. Origin: pyreto-+ G. Therapeia, treatment (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart | A mechanical pump used to replace the function of a damaged heart, either temporarily or as a permanent prosthesis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart valve | <cardiology> A synthetic or porcine (pigskin) valve surgically placed into the heart to replace a defective or malfunctioning valve. The aortic and mitral valves are the most frequently replaced with artificial valves. (27 Sep 1997) |
| artificial intelligence | In a nutshell, artificial intellence (AI) is the study of how to create acomputer that can think like a human being. See also expert systems and machine learning. (09 Oct 1997) |
| artificial kidney | A machine for haemodialysis in acute or chronic renal failure; toxic substances in the blood are removed by exposure to dialyzing fluid across a semipermeable membrane. Synonym: artificial kidney. Ultrafiltration haemodialyzer, a haemodialyzer that uses fluid pressure differentials to bring about loss (usually) of protein-free fluid from the blood to the bath, as in certain edematous conditions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial Kissingen salt | A mixture of potassium chloride, sodium chloride, anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and sodium bicarbonate; an antacid and laxative. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial life | Artificial life (AL, alife) is a scientific discipline in whichresearchers study life by creating computer programs that recreatebiological systems from scratch. (09 Oct 1997) |
| artificial limbs | Prosthetic replacements for arms, legs, and parts therof. (12 Dec 1998) |
| artificial melanin | A dark pigment, resembling melanin, formed from glucosamines in chitin. Synonym: artificial melanin, factitious melanin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial neural net | Artificial Neural Nets (ANN) are computer models of biological nerve cell networks. (09 Oct 1997) |
| artificial organs | Devices intended to replace non-functioning organs. They may be temporary or permanent. Since they are intended always to function as the natural organs they are replacing, they should be differentiated from prostheses and implants and specific types of prostheses which, though also replacements for body parts, are frequently cosmetic (eye, artificial) as well as functional (artificial limbs). (12 Dec 1998) |